Though Armenians were among the first migrants to the United States, with a settler known as ‘Martin ye Armenian’ arriving as early as 1618, their numbers were tiny until the late 19th century. They began to arrive in large numbers as a result of the Hamidian Massacres of 1894-1896 and the Armenian Holocaust of 1915-1923, settling mainly in California. Their reception was less than warm and they were often stereotyped as being lazy, dishonest, parasitic and given to criminality. This prejudice has decreased over the years, though the U.S. is still reluctant to formally acknowledge the Armenian Holocaust for fear of vexing diplomatic relations with Turkey.